The Piano Concerto No. 2 is a composition for solo piano and

string orchestra A string orchestra is an orchestra consisting solely of a string section made up of the bowed strings used in Western Classical music. The instruments of such an orchestra are most often the following: the violin, which is divided into first ...

by the Scottish composer James MacMillan. The work was commissioned by the New York City Ballet and was first performed at

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

on May 8, 2004, by the pianist Cameron Grant and the New York City Ballet Orchestra under MacMillan. The original ballet performance was choreographed by

Christopher Wheeldon Christopher Peter Wheeldon OBE (born 22 March 1973) is an English international choreographer of contemporary ballet. Life and career Born in Yeovil, Somerset, to an engineer and a physical therapist, Wheeldon began training to be a ballet dan ...

. The piece is dedicated in memory of the poet Edwin Muir.

Composition

Background

The inception for the Piano Concerto No. 2 began when the English choreographer

first approached MacMillan about expanding one of his compositions—1999's "Cumnock Fair" for string quintet—into a larger work fit for a ballet production. MacMillan subsequently wrote an adagio and fast finale that became the second and third movements, respectively. MacMillan described revisiting the piece in the score program notes, writing: Additionally, the movement titles "Shambards" and "Shamnation" are made-up words based on the same poem by Edwin Muir.

Structure

The composition has a duration of roughly 30 minutes and is composed in three movements: #Cumnock Fair #Shambards #Shamnation

Instrumentation

The work is scored for solo piano and a string orchestra comprising first and second violins, violas, cellos, and double basses.

Reception

Stephen Johnson of ''

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'' gave the concerto moderate praise, saying it "has its moments of spellbound celebration, like the strings' imitation of improvised Gallic psalm-singing (one of the loveliest things in all folk music) in the central slow movement". Andrew Achenbach of ''

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'' similarly lauded:

References